Club Obi Wan

Hi everyone,just thought I'd show off my 3 vintage horsehide jackets.The first is an original 1930's tracker jacket(with a new zip fitted) and it is getting some serious use this winter!.Number 2 is another original 30's horsehide,lined with flannel,it still has the original zip and side buckles.The last one is a very old horsehide(not sure of exact age),it's lined with blanket.The guy I bought it from believes it's of equestrian origin,there are marks where insignia have been removed from the collars and there are loops and buttons on the shoulders for insignia boards,it has all the original leather buttons and I think the pocket was used for gloves as it has no closure on it.I'm also wearing my original 30's kid leather gloves and,in the last pic,my vintage Filippo Catarzi cap(handmade in Erri's hometown-Florence! )I love all these jackets,none of the leather is stiff and they all fit great..I love the look and feel of 70 year old leather-no sandpaper needed on these!..Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone at COW!

Wow! All very nice jackets! Your pics totally reaffirm my belief that natural aging beats artificial distressing hands-down!

Thanks for sharing. I can only hope that when 70 years old I reach my jackets will look half as nice!

GREAT jackets Mark! Now it's even harder harder to wait for my next Wested (HH).

Regards,

Marc

Very nice looking jackets all. You must have done a lot of searching to find these in such good condition and very lucky as well to have them all fit so well.

What do you use to help care for and preserve the leather without darkening them too much, if anything?

Those are all some beaut's! Just think, I'll only have to wait a scant 70 years for my jacket to look that good!

Great looking jackets! I really like the first one, the best...but, that is because it is so different! Good Stuff! Great finds! Enjoy! You look great in them! W>

not only are those great in the style their are cut in, they fit you perfectly!

cheers

mark seven, I LOVE the tracker's jacket! Can you post more pics and details of this jacket? I'd love to see the inside, even.

Mark Seven, those jackets are great! I like the second one best. I have a jacket from the 1930's as well and it is the best fitting jacket I have. Back in those days, obesity and even muscle-bound guys were rare. The arms are cut without all the extra room so the jackets move with you rather than ride up every time you lift your arms, yet they never feel tight. Today, with everyone wanting this extra freedom of movement, the armholes start halfway up the side of the jacket and it is actually more restrictive. You lift your arms and the jacket winds up around your neck somewhere.

Bravo!

Where did get yours? If you are looking for more vintage jackets, check out Ghost Motor Clothes. They get some good stuff in from time to time.

Thanks for all your kind comments guys!,I bought 2 of the jackets from ebay(very lucky-not many come up in my size-36!)and one through a friend,I haven't used any leather products on them yet..Bink,I'll borrow my mums camera and take some more pics of the tracker for you this weekend-have to admit I've been wearing that one the most -Rick,I love Ghost motor clothes(vintage jacket heaven!)

rick5150 wrote: Where did get yours? If you are looking for more vintage jackets, check out Ghost Motor Clothes. They get some good stuff in from time to time.

You mean like this one, Rick?

http://www.spookcycle.com/catalog/detai ... pe&brand=4

or this one, though steer hide?

http://www.spookcycle.com/catalog/detai ... pe&brand=4

Tailor-wear, by the way, are made right here in Tullahoma,TN, and has been one of the sources of information I've had regarding leather over the years.

Regard! Michaelson

I love seeing jackets like this! Yours look great! I hope you don't see this as trying to hijack your thread Mark, I only mean to compliment it. I had been wanting to share a few pics of my old horsehide jacket and I thought you would enjoy seeing it.

A bit of history; This jacket was a gift to my Grandpa from his first wife when he returned from WWII. She died about 10 years later. He stopped wearing it then, but he wore it wherever he went during the time she was alive (They traveled all over the U.S. together). He gave this jacket to me in '95. He passed away in 2001, so this jacket is very special to me. Enjoy the pics!

I love the details....

Very Indy-ish here.

That looks like it's made well enough for YOU to pass down to YOUR grandkids someday, my friend!!

HIGH regards! Michaelson

Thank you Michaelson! I remember posting a few pics of this jacket on the Indyfan Forums about six years ago. I finally got around to taking some better shots.

I thought they were vaguely familiar, but I've seen so many photos of jackets since then, who can keep it all straight!

Regards! Michaelson

That is a great looking jacket. We spend so much time on the Indy jackets here, it's nice to see something that's truly old, well made and in such good shape.

Randy

I'd just like to echo the comments already posted and say that it truly is a beautiful looking jacket with the added plus of having a personal history that's meaningful to you alone. What could be better?

It looks to have the original lining with the label still attached with all the readily viewable seams still nicely intact.

Just as an aside, I think one of my first posts to the 'old' COW forum was about my grandfather's jacket. It was also horsehide but it was never cared for and by the time it came into my possession the leather had become so brittle that it literally began crumbling away. I was told it would be impossible to restore to its original condition.

I may have posted scanned pictures of it from old photographs and a digital image comparison of what it looked like many years later but if I did it was probably lost on one of several computer HD's I've had since. Talk about well made, vintage, and something to pass along to future generations ...definitely not words generally associated with computers.

I'm glad you "got around to taking" these pics to post here.

DeWayne wrote: I hope you don't see this as trying to hijack your thread Mark]

I don't mind at all!,DeWayne you can hijack my thread anytime with pics of jackets as nice as that one! 8)I love seeing pics of vintage jackets and that's a beaut!..and the family history makes it even more special-thanks for sharing!

Thank you Mark! I was wondering if you could show any pics of the back of the jacket your wearing in the middle pictures. If you have any. I would love to see it. Does it still have a tag? Aside from the pockets, my jacket, and your middle jacket look very similar in design. The tag on mine says "Californian" by the way.

DeWayne,the tag inside says 'genuine topgrain horsehide'-no makers id unfortunately,I agree they are very similar(my top pocket is an exact match to yours,I have different buckles and no buttons on the sleeves though)here's a pic of the back...

mark seven, I'll PM you my address so you can send me that jacket.

Now I have my OWN vintage front quarter horse hide jacket! I'm guessing it's from the 40's—50's (unless someone can confirm otherwise) and is lined with real sheepskin, so it's warm! (Not sure what the collar is. The dark spots are just from the lighting.) It needs to be cleaned and the lining could use a little TLC, but it's a beautiful russet color with great natural distressing! Best of all, I only paid thirty bucks for it! Oh, and the hat is my naturally distressed AB.

nice jacket bink. looks great on you and goes awesome with the hat! any problems with the leather cracking considering the age?

That jacket does look good on you Bink. I'm curious about how the leather has held up myself.

Thanks, guys! Apart from needing a good coat of Pecards, the leather is in great condition. It's aged and distressed nicely from years of wear, but the leather doesn't appear to be flaking or cracking apart anywhere. There's a LOT of life left in this jacket, even if the lining and inside of pockets could use some repair. In fact, I plan to take it somewhere to get professionally cleaned and repaired. I know I don't want bad cleaning chemicals used on this jacket, so does anyone know what questions I should ask regarding proper restoration of this beauty? I figure I only paid thirty bucks for the jacket, so I can afford to but a couple extra pennies into getting it fixed up right.

Oh, and looking at the pics again, they were taken by a friend of mine who is considerably taller than me, so I look even shorter than I already am!

Bink,your jacket looks great! ,I love that warm russet colour..I've been using saddle leather oil(Carrs leather oil) on my vintage jackets with fantastic results-they are softening up really nicely without altering the colour.

Thanks, seven! The color is one of the things that draws me to horsehide. If I ever scrape up the money for another Wested, I'd want it in this color of horsehide. I'll have to keep an eye out for the Carrs leather oil, though I've always had great success with my tub o' Pecards. Tomorrow I'm going to take the jacket around to a couple of places to see about getting the sheepskin lining repaired. Even though it's slowly starting to get warmer out, I'm sure I could still find a good reason to wear it once it's in tip-top shape again.

Vitoscarlatti wrote:Those are three great looking horse jackets Mark Seven, I'm certain I won 16 quid on an each way bet at the Grand National six years ago on that second one when it had four legs.

..strange thing is,whenever I put the jacket on I have the urge to jump fences and steal sugar-lumps from cafes!

Sweet buy Bink!

You should do what I do and use a little mini tripod! lol

Kt Templar wrote:Sweet buy Bink!

You should do what I do and use a little mini tripod! lol

Thanks, Kt! Those pics were taken about an hour after I got the jacket, so it was a friend's camera took the pics. And the "bipod" who took the picture stands 6'2" to my 5"4." The jacket is currently out getting cleaned and repaired, though I was VERY adamant about making sure they didn't dye the color! I want that distressing, especially since it was done the natural way over many years of wear. It's like removing all the patina off an antiqtue, it kills half the value.